Thursday, July 31, 2014

After hyping the five team members of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, it’s finally time for the film’s villains to get a little shine! I don’t love the fact that Yondu, one of the original Guardians of the Galaxy, is now considered a villain, but at least he’s being included in the film. Poor Martinex and Charlie-27! They never get any attention. This Guardians of the Galaxy Villains Character Movie Poster Set includes Lee Pace as Ronan the Accused, Michael Rooker as Yondu, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Djimon Hounsou as Korath and Benicio del Toro as The Collector. Is that a cast or what!?! I love that Marvel’s villains get even more star power than the film’s super hero stars.

The Guardians of the Galaxy invade theaters everywhere on August 1, 2014.

Leecifer is heading to Albuquerque this weekend for his new solo show “Real Live” at Stranger Factory! The show includes a killer new line up of sculptures and customized vinyl and resin figures featuring Leecifer’s signature painting style. The Blot’s a huge fan of Lee’s bright color palette mixed with a worn and weathered look he gives to all of his customs and original creations.

There will be an opening reception for Leecifer’s “Real Live” solo show on Friday, August 1st, from 6-9pm at Stranger Factory with Lee in attendance! The show runs from Aug 1st-31st, with online sales inquiries traditionally accepted the following Monday (August 4th at 12 noon) via strangerfactorysales@gmail.com.

For the generation of children who grew up in the so-called "Decade of Excess", everything that was important about the 80s, everything that mattered, happened on Saturday mornings! Forget the Cold War and the war against drugs, Saturday mornings in the 80s were all about cartoons and toy commercials. Every cartoon had a toy line and every toy line had its cartoon. It was a magical era for sure, and Guzu Gallery intends to serve up a slice of that nostalgia this summer at their group art show entitled “Children of the 80s”. Join Guzu Gallery this Friday, August 1st, as they celebrate the cartoons and toys from the raddest decade ever!

The opening reception will be on Friday, August 1st, from 7-10pm and the artwork will remain up through August 30th. Be sure to sport your best (or worst) 80s attire on opening night! Blue eyeliner, leg warmers, hair by Aqua Net and Members Only jackets are encouraged (as is wearing your sunglasses at night). There will be a live performance and 80s/Synthwave DJ set with retro visuals by Who Ha on opening night. Complimentary beverages will be provided by Miller Lite, featuring the original white can (for added old-school authenticity). Guzu will also be featuring an array of vintage toys from the collection of Outlaw Moon Games and Toys. Admission is free and all ages are welcome!

Best of all, if you can't make it out to the show all available artwork will be available for purchase in Guzu Gallery’s online store beginning on Monday, August 4th, around Noon CST.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

If you liked the Gotham television poster FOX was giving away at San Diego Comic-Con 2014(seen here), then you’ll love this set of Gotham character TV posters featuring the tag line “The Good. The Evil. The Beginning.” Instead of cramming the entire cast onto one poster, this set gives each character their very own ominous one sheet. Gotham is an origin story of the great DC Comics super villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. It follows one cop's rise through a dangerously corrupt city teetering on the edge of evil, and chronicles the birth of one of the most popular super heroes of all time. This show is seriously going to be so good!

Synopsis: Before there was Batman, there was Gotham. Everyone knows the name Commissioner Gordon. He is one of the crime world's greatest foes, a man whose reputation is synonymous with law and order. But what is known of Gordon's story and his rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner? What did it take to navigate the multiple layers of corruption that secretly ruled Gotham City, the spawning ground of the world's most iconic villains? And what circumstances created them – the larger-than-life personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and The Joker?

We’re just a few days away from opening night of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy! To celebrate the film’s release, Funko is releasing this adorable and super furry Rocket Raccoon Fabrikations Plush. Fabrikations is Funko’s new line of 6” soft sculpted figures filled with a dense foam to achieve a high-end lush feel that’s weighted so it can stand anywhere. These things take officially licensed plush figures to the next level!

Earlier this month Dark Ink Art and Acme Archives released the third print in its awesome Indiana Jones Screen Print Series by Dave Perillo! Following “Raiders: 1981” and “Temple: 1984” comes “Crusade: 1989” based on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The Blot loves Perillo’s signature multi-panel approach and it works perfectly with the totally underappreciated Last Crusade.

“Crusade: 1989” by Dave Perillo is a 12”x36” Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade screen print sold exclusively at Dark Ink’s online store for $50. It has a limited edition run size of 250 pieces and comes signed and numbered by the artist.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

IMAX gave away free tickets to an IMAX 3D “first look” at Guardians of the Galaxy on July 7th. The Blot really wanted to sign up for free tickets and see the 15 minute preview, but I resisted. I’m concerned that with all these trailers, first looks and scenes posted on the internet I will have seen the entire movie before it hits theaters on August 1st. I’m really surprised Marvel did something like this considering the amazing reviews this film has been receiving. But I guess when Marvel set this up they didn’t know that a film starring a team of D-List heroes would be this beloved by both the comic book reading community and the average moviegoer. Guardians Assemble!

To coincide with San Diego Comic-Con 2013, Dark Ink Art and Acme Archives released this beautiful Frozen screen print by the talented Michael De Pippo! Elsa looks pretty fantastic in De Pippo’s simple, yet elegant design. The Blot especially loves his use of pure white, which really plays up the icy themes of the film.

Frozen by Michael De Pippo is an 18”x24” screen print. This awesome Disney screen print is limited to 1,000 pieces and can be purchased now from the Dark Ink Art online store for $50.

Last Week, ETC Toys (aka Extra-Truckestrial Custom Toys) released its first wave of painted Boddhak resin figures! Hand painted by Kevin Watts, Boddhak is the second figure in ETC Toys’ really fun Buddhas of the Universe bootleg resin figure series. It’s a mash-up of the classic Buddha figure with She-Ra’s archnemesis, Hordak. The Blot’s a big fan of ETC Toys’ Masters of the Universe bootleg figures and this painted series looks fantastic. Watts did a great job evoking Hordak’s signature MOTU costume, don’t you think?

The Painted Boddhak 3” resin figure by ETC Toys and Kevin Watts is currently available via the ETC Toys online store for $40. Only 6 figures were created for this wave, but look for more painted Buddhas of the Universe resin figures coming soon!

We’re just a few days away from opening night of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and The Blot can’t wait!!! Clearly we’ll be highlighting the film all week here on TheBlotSays.com. First up are these awesome Guardians of the Galaxy International Character Movie Posters featuring Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Rocket Raccoon and Groot! These are alternate images from the posters that were previously released here in the US. I’m glad to see Rocket and Groot finally get the proper respect they deserve as the stars of the film with their own individual posters.

The Guardians of the Galaxy invade theaters everywhere on August 1, 2014.

Monday, July 28, 2014

Last week, Mondo announced they were getting into the toy game, and The Blot is beyond excited! This is the just the kind of game changing announcement the designer art toy scene really needs right now. Everything Mondo has done up to this point has been top notch, whether it be t-shirts, screen prints, vinyl records, or VHS movie tapes, so you know they'll take the same approach to toys. I especially can’t wait to see what new artists they’ll be bringing to the toy game, which in turn will hopefully bring new fans to the scene (which we desperately need). Art toys are finally making a comeback!

At San Diego Comic-Con 2014 Mondo debuted their first four figures: a massive Iron Giant figure with tons of articulation, an epic “Lil Mikey” TMNT figure by Mike Mitchell, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figure based on Kevin Eastman’s very first TMNT drawing, and an officially licensed Alfred Hitchcock figure with all kinds of accessories like a director’s chair and megaphone. There were also a few other Iron Giant prop replica type figures on display as well. These are all going to be so great!!! And I will hopefully be updating this blog post with more pictures soon.

All of these figures and so much more we will be released online at the Mondo online store as a pre-order at a later date, so get excited!

Yesterday on the final day of SDCC 2014, Mondo released this epic San Diego Comic-Con 2014 Exclusive Guardians of the Galaxy Variant Screen Print by Tyler Stout!!! Stout is hands down my favorite screen print artist and he knocked this Marvel movie poster out of the park. I could say more about this release but I think the picture above is all you need to know. Expect the standard edition full colored version of this print to drop this week and have a run size of around 750 (just The Blot’s guess). I have got to snag one of the standard editions!

The San Diego Comic-Con 2014 Exclusive Guardians of the Galaxy Variant Screen Print by Tyler Stout is limited to 350 pieces, measures 24”x36” and retailed for $110 at the Mondo SDCC booth #835.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Mondo released this deadly Gamora Guardians of the Galaxy screen print by Vance Kelly yesterday at San Diego Comic-Con 2014! Kelly designed a beautiful Zoe Saldana don’t you think!?! This Comic-Con exclusive Marvel screen print measures 24”x 36” and is limited to just 225 pieces. It retailed for just $45 at the Mondo SDCC booth #835.

Yesterday, Mondo released this pretty nice Drax Guardians of the Galaxy screen print by Phantom City Creative at San Diego Comic-Con 2014. I don’t have any details on this Marvel print, but I assume it was a 24”x36” screen print limited to around 200-300 and retailed for around $45. It's really too bad it's been so hard to find out information on Mondo's Comic-Con releases. But fans of Batista and the WWE will definitely want to get their hands on this print!

Marvel has unveiled the final two posters in their awesome San Diego Comic-Con 2014 Exclusive Avengers: Age of Ultron Movie Poster Set featuring concept art for the film! These posters feature Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk in a huge, epic battle against an army of Ultrons. These poster, which have been given away for free at Comic-Con, complete the image we’ve been forming the past few days, and now you can see the entire giant battle from Avengers 2. But where’s Nick Fury!?!

Marvel’s been giving away these awesome Agents of SHIELD x Agent Carter television posters at San Diego Comic-Con 2014. It’s hard to believe Marvel will have two live action TV shows set in the MCU, while DC is still claiming they won’t connect their super hero TV shows with their movies (what a terrible decision). The Blot will be interested to see how Agent Carter fleshes out the history of SHIELD in the MCU. I wonder if things that happen in Agent Carter will have an impact on the 2nd half of Agents of SHIELD’s second season. We’ll find out soon!

Yesterday at San Diego Comic-Con 2014 Warner Bros gave the world its first look at Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman from DC Comics' upcoming Batman v Superman. I have to say, she looks freaking amazing! If anyone was worried Gal couldn’t play an Amazonia warrior then think again. Plus, this is way better than Adrianne Palicki’s Wonder Woman costume from her failed pilot last year. It’s too bad I don’t feel the same about Ben Affleck’s Batman or Henry Cavill’s Superman. Don’t all three of them look pretty dour? Where’s the fun in the DC movie universe? This may be Christopher Nolan's ultimate curse. If only they could learn from the Marvel cinematic universe that comic books are supposed to be fun!

Thanks to our friends at Toybot Studios we are at San Diego Comic-Con 2014, we have this photo of Funko’s upcoming new line of Marvel Hikari Japanese Vinyl figures!!! On display at Comic-Con were a variety of killer looking Spider-Man Hikari colorways, including OG, translucent, metallic, gold, glow in the dark and is that marbled vinyl in the background!?! From the looks of this picture, the Spider-Man Hikari is the best sculpt that I’ve seen from this fledgling toy line. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come. Bring it on Funko!